


Keep Your Enemies Closer

by River9Noble



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Crackship treated seriously, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Heavy Angst, Rarepair, Rating will probably change to E later on, Romance, Steph is an adult, StephLex, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 23:27:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30130494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River9Noble/pseuds/River9Noble
Summary: Stephanie Brown has a more-than-unfortunate birth control fail. No - REALLY unfortunate. Super unfortunate.But come on, it's not like Batman hasn't fucked villains, too, right? Right? So she'd fucked Lex Luthor. It was for a mission. (Sort of.) Is that any reason to judge her? Steph thinks not.Being knocked up with Lex's baby IS kind of awkward, though, ngl.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Lex Luthor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 10
Collections: Focus on Female Characters





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OH LOOK I've created another AO3 relationship tag *snorts* 
> 
> Yes. It's the StephLex rarepair that no one asked for or even considered. 
> 
> Ok so - I did not know where I was going with this when I wrote the first few chapters and now I do and Uh, this is not gonna be a lighthearted fic. I added tags for Heavy Angst and Bittersweet Ending. 
> 
> Parts of this story could become very triggering or depressing for people. I hesitate to tag specifically how because it will give major spoilers so here’s what I’m gonna do - I’m gonna go put the SPOILERS in the ENDNOTES of “Shot to the Heart” (My Stephshot fic.) 
> 
> That way nobody who doesn’t want to see them will accidentally see them - but if there is any chance at all that sad things might bother you, PLEASE go check those endnotes to find out what those specific sad things are so you can make a good decision for yourself about whether or not to read this. 
> 
> I do not usually write shit like this so be warned, this is going to turn different than my other stuff.

Steph went to check the pregnancy test, and her brain short-circuited.

By the time she realized she was hyper-ventilating, she was already sliding down the bathroom wall in a slow collapse. That was good, she'd be closer to the toilet if she threw up like she felt like she was going to, but she was reasonably sure it was from dread and not morning-sickness.

Yeah. Stephanie Brown had gotten knocked up again.

* * *

"Stephanie," his suave voice said, and oh fuck, he'd actually picked up for her when she called? Wow. That was - shut up, brain, it wasn't anything, Steph resolutely thought.

"Hi, Lex," Steph said, swallowing down her nerves.

"It's absolutely delightful to hear from you," Lex said. Oh. It was? That was … definitely not flattering, nope, uh-uh, surely just a line. Surely. "Are you in Metropolis?" Lex said.

"Um, no," Steph said. "I'm in Gotham."

"Would you like to be in Metropolis?" Lex said smoothly, and -

"Wh - what?" Steph said stupidly.

"I could send my helicopter down for you, bring you up for the weekend," Lex said.

"The weekend?" Steph said faintly.

"Absolutely," Lex said. "We could have a quiet dinner in tonight, take in a show tomorrow, have a late brunch on Sunday…" And a hell of a lot of sex in between, Steph was quite sure - "What do you say?" Lex said.

Well - she was a coward, ok? It would be easier to tell him in person. What's the worst that would happen? He'd stick her right back on the copter and send her back to Gotham.

"Yeah, ok," Steph said, still feeling knocked a little off kilter that Lex Luthor was inviting _her_ to spend a weekend with him. She wasn't that good of a lay, was she? … was she?

"That would be really nice, Lex," Steph found the words to say. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart," Lex said. "Let's figure out the closest helipad to you."

* * *

The nearest helipad was Gotham General, but Steph was extremely relieved when they had the balls to refuse to let an out-of-town billionaire disrupt their MedVacs. (Steph had a feeling that if it had been Bruce Wayne who had asked, they would have fallen over backwards to accommodate him, however.)

But God forbid her mother see her leaving town to go hook up with Lex. Hell, some nurse or other would have been bound to recognize her and gossip to her mom and Steph did not need that stress right now.

Her mom was gonna find out soon enough who'd fathered her second grandchild, after all. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

A very offended-by-Gotham Lex had quickly regrouped after delivering some scathing comments, no doubt, to whoever'd been unfortunate enough to speak with him at Gotham General, and Lex had sent a limo to pick Steph up at her apartment to drive her downtown, instead, to the swanky Ritz Carlton in the Diamond District.

Steph had expected to walk herself in to the hotel while carrying her own small suitcase like a normal person, and then ask at the reception desk about finding her way up to the helipad, but the limo driver astounded her by taking her suitcase for her rather than handing it over and driving off. Lex must have pre-tipped him really well, Steph thought to herself, as the driver led her into the lobby straight to the concierge and smartly announced, "Ms. Brown, here for her helicopter."

 _Her_ helicopter. Right, Steph mentally snorted.

"Ah, Ms. Brown," the fancier guy standing next to the concierge said like he'd been waiting just for her. He was wearing an actual suit, not a uniform, and he was reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Thomas Dubois, the general manager of the Gotham Ritz Carlton. We're so pleased that we could be of assistance to you today."

"Thank you," Steph said, her eyes slightly widening as they shook hands. So she was getting the celebrity treatment, huh. Thanks, Lex. Her eyes darted to the politely smiling concierge at the manager's side.

"This is Lewis, one of our concierges," the big gun introduced when he noticed where her eyes had landed.

"It's nice to meet you, Lewis," Steph said with a little smile as she stuck her hand out to him. Lewis's eyes got a sneaky twinkle as he gravely shook her hand back and welcomed her to the Ritz. She knew that Lewis knew that not only had she never stayed in a Ritz Carlton in her life, she could not now nor would she ever be able to afford even a single night's stay - and neither could he.

Although, Dusnooty probably knew that about Steph, too, but didn't give a crap, because she was obviously fucking Lex Luthor and was therefore Very Important In This Moment. Dusnooty gestured to Steph and said, "Right this way, Ms. Brown" and look at that, poor Lewis had to take her miniscule suitcase and trail after them, because carrying luggage wasn't Mr. Manager's job.

God. Was her kid gonna grow up spoiled? Steph suddenly wondered. She had no idea how involved Lex was going to want to be - her unicorn wish was that he wouldn't want anything to do with their kid at all, but she figured that was probably unrealistic.

And oh, B was gonna kill her, Steph thought as the elevator doors slid shut. He might even try to make her quit being Batgirl, not that she probably ought to keep running around fighting crime when she was pregnant, she suddenly realized. Yeah, she'd run around town as Spoiler with an enormous belly, but she'd been planting clues to foil her dad's crimes, not literally getting into fights.

Steph felt tears start to gather at the back of her eyes, but - Ooh, her stomach did not like the swaying of the elevator when they took off. Oh shit. Steph swallowed hard and gritted her teeth and took deep breaths, but thankfully as soon as they got going and the ride was smoother, the contents of her stomach decided they could stay inside her body.

But yeah. How was she gonna be a superhero when her baby daddy was a super-villain? It wouldn't matter much when her kid was a baby, but what about when the kid was old enough to figure out what their mom was up to at night and could blab to Lex about it? Fuck, she'd need a good babysitter, too, wouldn't she? Or a nanny. God, her life was gonna be suspicious as all hell to a sitter. Maybe someone in the hero community could do it? Oh, God, Steph thought helplessly.

* * *

Lex's equally respectful and helpful pilot was waiting for her next to the sleek helicopter that had _LexCorp_ splashed all over the sides, and he took Steph's suitcase from Lewis and loaded it into the chopper while Steph dug in her purse for some cash so she could give Lewis a tip. She felt bad that all she had was a few dollars, because he was probably used to getting a lot more, but he thanked her graciously and sincerely with a kind smile that said that he understood all too well how thin her pocketbook was.

"Have you ever flown in a chopper before?" the pilot asked Steph after he got her buckled in and set up with a headset so she could talk to him over the comms. When Steph said no, he reached behind her seat and grabbed her a barf bag with a grin.

"Just in case," he said, "but I'm going to give you a smooth trip, don't worry."

Yeah, apparently smooth trip was a relative term to someone who was pregnant, because as soon as he lifted off, Steph was retching into the bag. Thank God he'd given it to her, she thought, cringing with embarrassment.

"God, I'm so sorry," the pilot was saying, looking concerned, but Steph shook her head.

"Not your fault," she mumbled, trying to wipe her mouth on the edges of the bag.

She threw up again on the landing, and that was just lovely, wasn't it. She didn't even notice that Lex was there waiting for them until he was unclipping her seatbelt and fussing over her.

"I'm so sorry you got airsick, sweetheart," he was saying, looking concerned.

Yeah, he was gonna look a little more concerned in a few minutes, Steph knew. She supposed it was good that he already had an inkling that his sexy weekend was not about to go as planned.

But Lex, at least, had the manhood to take her suitcase himself as he led her by the hand down the stairs into his elegant penthouse on the top floor of LexCorp.

"Wow," Steph breathed out when she stepped into the airy, sleekly modern space that had what she was quite sure were original Mark Rothkos and Sydney Pollacks on the walls. "You have good taste in art," Steph smiled at Lex, who looked faintly surprised at her comment.

"So do you, apparently," Lex said.

"The Gotham Modern Art Museum has free entry," Steph said, wandering over to stand in front of one of the Rothkos. "I used to hang out a lot there as a kid. Do you feel like they move, too?" she asked him, looking over her shoulder. "I always felt like I could see them breathing, like they were alive."

"Yes," Lex said again, sounding even more astounded. Steph smiled at him. "Most people don't spend enough time in front of them to notice that, I don't think," Lex said, coming up next to her. "They take a quick glance, say ‘oh, I could paint that,' and move on."

Steph chuckled.

"Their loss," she mused.

"Indeed," Lex said, looking down at her thoughtfully. He cleared his throat. "Why don't I show you to the bathroom," he said. "I'm sure you'd enjoy some mouthwash," he smiled and Steph groaned.

"Yes. Thank you," she said.

"And we'll definitely delay dinner," Lex said. "A soda instead, perhaps? Ginger ale?"

"That would be great," Steph said in relief. "I'm sorry I got sick," she mumbled, feeling embarrassed, but probably not as embarrassed as she would feel minutes from now when she had to say "sorry I got pregnant."

"It wasn't your fault," Lex was saying kindly. "I'm so used to flying, I've forgotten what a jolt to the system it can be for some people. We'll get you some Dramamine to take ahead of time before your flight home."

Yeahhhh, she wasn't gonna be able to take that with her little bun in the oven, but Lex didn't need to know that right now.

* * *

He had an iced ginger ale waiting for her on the oval glass coffee table in front of his sharply rectangular black leather sofa when she emerged from the bathroom, and Steph took it with a grateful smile as she sunk down into the plush cushion next to him, scrunching her now bare toes up into the shaggy fibers of his abstractly patterned area rug.

"Thank you," she said as she took a small sip.

"It's my pleasure," Lex said, looking her over with a smile. And yeah, Steph knew sex eyes when she saw them, but she was glad he wasn't being a jerk about it. He honestly didn't look put out that she'd inadvertently derailed the beginning of their night, and that was much sweeter behavior than Steph had expected from someone who was, ya know, a super-villain.

"I realized," Lex said, gently threading his fingers through her free hand and pulling it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles, "I never let you tell me why you called earlier. Which, obviously, I'm glad you did," he said with a heated smile.

"Oh," Steph said, feeling her stomach knot up again. She winced and set her ginger ale down on the table. "I'm so sorry," she said miserably. "I was going to tell you on the phone, but then when you invited me up here I thought I'd wait and tell you now -"

"It's fine," Lex said, looking surprised at her distress. "I distracted you," he said with a small chuckle, kissing some of her fingertips now.

"It's not exactly fine," Steph said hoarsely. Lex's brow was getting the slightest bit furrowed before Steph took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm pregnant."

Lex stared at her.

"I'm so sorry," Steph whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm on birth control. I don't know how - we used a condom -" she gulped and covered her mouth up with the hand that she pulled out of Lex's, trying not to bawl.

Lex's face looked as blank as Steph's probably had that morning when she'd stared at the plus sign that shouldn't have been there.

"You're sure it's mine, I take it?" Lex finally said, but his tone wasn't accusatory. It was more like how B got when he was trying to work out a problem, considering all the angles in a dispassionately detached manner.

"Yeah," Steph said, wiping her leaking eyes on her sleeve. "I haven't slept with anybody except you since my last period."

"All right," Lex said evenly, still sounding slightly monotone, like a zombie. Steph knew the feeling.

"And you're sure you're pregnant?" he persisted.

"Well, I only took one test," Steph sniffed. "This morning. My period was late and I thought I was being paranoid so I wanted to reassure myself…" she trailed off. "But I threw up twice on the helicopter," she muttered. "And the elevator at the hotel made me queasy, too," she said.

"Well…" Lex said. He glanced at the clock. "We'll assume for the time being that the test was accurate, but I'd like to take you to a doctor for a blood test tomorrow to be sure."

"Ok," Steph said. That was a good idea, honestly, but she was pretty sure it was going to give them the same results.

Lex took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Have you considered what you want to do?" he said carefully.

"I'm keeping it," Steph said quietly, looking down at her hands. God, he was probably gonna hate her. She was sure he'd rather she have an abortion and be done with it so their lives could continue on uninterrupted and uncomplicated and empty and -

Steph startled when Lex's fingers landed on her jaw and turned her face to his, and she barely had time to register the light in his eyes before he was kissing her, and - what - the - fuck - God, he was _really_ kissing her, sliding closer and wrapping an arm low around her waist to pull her tight against him, and the hand on her jaw was stroking her cheek now, before tangling in her hair and caressing the back of her head, and Steph was surprised to find herself leaning into it and kissing him back, which was _not_ the plan, and her arms wound up around Lex's neck and then she ended up in his lap, until finally she was staring up at him, breathless.

God, his eyes were on fire and crinkled up at the corners with - smiles? Yeah, Lex was smiling as he pressed his forehead into hers and held it there.

"You're not mad?" Steph said in utter confusion.

"Mad?" Lex said, sounding astounded. "Sweetheart - no -" he finally seemed to register Steph's deep perplexion and drew back.

"I had a son," Lex said hoarsely and suddenly - that was grief in his eyes.

"Conner," Steph whispered, feeling her own heart wrench with pain. Lex nodded.

"He died," he said in a thick voice before swallowing hard, and - oh, God, Lex's eyes were actually getting wet. Steph hadn't known - sure, she knew that Lex had acknowledged Conner as his son, but - she hadn't thought he'd really _loved_ him, not like a father - Superman hadn't, after all, but - Lex looked as broken as Steph had looked after she'd come home from the hospital.

"I had a daughter," Steph choked out. "When I was 15. I gave her up for adoption," she said. "I didn't even hold her," she whimpered, and then she was crying into Lex's shoulder and he was holding her and sniffing into her hair, and - they were _hugging_. Steph and Lex Luthor. Hugging it out and crying on each other about the children they'd lost, and holy shit, they were having a baby together.

Maybe a lot more together than she'd planned on. Fuck.

B really was gonna kill her.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't even tell you how long it's been since I last gave a woman my phone number," Lex smiled down at Steph, now that their mutual waterworks had stopped and he was cozily cuddling her, keeping her firmly planted in his lap.

"Why me, then?" Steph said curiously.

She had wondered that at the time, why Lex had asked for her number when he'd finally pulled out of her, sweaty and breathless, on the darkened balcony of LexCorp's ballroom level.

"I'd love to see you the next time I'm in Gotham," Lex had said, and Steph had been so surprised that she'd found herself reciting her digits while Lex tapped them into his phone. Her purse buzzed a second later with a muffled text alert.

"Give me a call the next time you're in Metropolis, too," Lex had smiled at her, before giving her one last, lingering kiss and smoothing her hair down, then striding away and slipping back into the ballroom, leaving Steph alone on the balcony.

"You were refreshingly unusual," Lex was chuckling now. "Asking me to dance with you to make your ex jealous. I appreciate a thirst for revenge," he laughed lightly, but Steph was all too aware how seriously the super-villain meant his words.

And not only that, but - making Timothy "the Drake heir" Wayne jealous because of their 'recent breakup' had been a cover story. B had tasked Steph and Tim with distracting Lex at the gala so that he could sneak out and snoop around the R&D Department to gather firsthand intel on some alarmingly suspicious meta-humans that Superman had recently encountered in Metropolis that the Justice League thought might be linked to LexCorp experiments.

Granted, fucking Lex had not been part of the distract-him plan. And Steph could've easily not fucked him, was the thing. When Lex had asked her if she wanted to get a little air with him on the balcony, she could have said no and kept dancing with him, instead.

But… well… he was really hot and flirty, ok? Like, seriously coming on to her in a way that not many guys did, especially not recently, and Steph had been flattered and turned on and she'd really been enjoying how handsy he was while they'd danced, and how he'd played up the whole jealousy angle so much at her request and relentlessly mocked Tim with her over quiet glances and whispers, and -

It wasn't like B had never fucked a criminal. So Steph felt totally (not quite) (she knew it was a horrible idea) justified in letting Lex pull her outside and press her up against the dark wall and fuck her senseless. It had been damn good. And they'd used a condom, and she was on the motherfuckin' pill - but -

Now Lex was all excited to be having a baby with her and he thought Tim was her much hated, very recent ex, when actually he was her very best friend. Crap. Umm….. well, blushing was a good start.

"Oh, God, Lex," Steph said in distress that was all too easy to fake. "I lied about that."

Lex's eyebrows went up, but he looked amused more than angry. So far.

"I, um, just thought you were really hot and I wanted to dance with you and I saw how you kept brushing off every other woman who tried to get close to you all night and Tim's actually my best friend, although we did used to date a long time ago, but that's why he went along with me when I said I wanted to get your attention by making him seem jealous and um…. I'm really sorry," Steph said to wrap up her rambling. "I swear I didn't mean to get pregnant, though. I'm horrified," she said, and that, she meant with every fiber of her being.

Much to her relief, Lex started laughing, quietly at first and then a big booming belly laugh.

"Sweetheart, the only thing I appreciate even more than revenge is a devious mind," he said, pulling her close and planting a warm kiss on her lips. "I think I like you even more now," he mused, regarding her thoughtfully. "That was a fantastically clever plan. And it worked," he said, still chuckling.

Steph let out a relieved breath but groaned in unfeigned embarrassment.

"It worked too well," she mumbled, burying her face in Lex's shoulder.

"But you do want to keep the baby?" Lex checked with some concern, brushing Steph's hair off of her face and nudging her eyes towards his.

"Yes," Steph said without hesitation. "Definitely. I can't - abortion's not for me. And I can't go through another adoption," she said in a shaky voice. "It almost killed me the last time. I never stop thinking about my daughter," she said softly. "And missing her. All the time. I hate that I got pregnant again and this time my whole life is going to change into something completely different than what I had planned for myself but -" She bit her lip, not quite able to voice her feelings.

"I understand," Lex said gently. "And I am here for you and our child. In fact," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his jaw, "why don't you move in with me?"

"Lex!" Steph said, completely startled. "I can't - we haven't even dated - I live in Gotham -"

Lex raised his eyebrows at her.

"Obviously we'll begin dating now," he said calmly. "And I want you close by so I can take care of you."

"I'm in college," Steph said, still in shock. "I can't just -"

Lex made a small, dismissive noise in his throat.

"Are you in the middle of any classes? It's the summer session now, isn't it? We can get you transferred to Metropolis U by the start of the fall semester," he said briskly.

"No," Steph said more strongly, finding her nerve. "I appreciate the offer," she said when Lex's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, "so much," she added, laying a hand on his forearm and giving him a smile, "but I love Gotham, Lex. With all my heart and soul. I don't ever want to live anywhere else. And I'm invested in my PT program and already have a great advisor and I've been making contacts through my internships and - I don't want to move to Metropolis," Steph said quietly but firmly.

Lex let out a long, slightly exasperated sigh.

"You Gothamites," he muttered, but his gaze on her had gotten fond again. "There must be something in the water," he said dryly. "Because God knows none of you ever want to leave that hellhole."

Steph grinned at him.

"There's no place like home," she said. "And yes, I'm quite sure there's tons of crap in the water." Lex snorted.

"I'll be outfitting your apartment with a purified water cooler immediately," he said, and he was half-teasing, but Steph was positive that she was going to have a delivery van showing up on Monday morning.

"I suppose…" Lex said slowly. He sighed. "I suppose I can purchase a penthouse in Gotham and commute back and forth to Metropolis. It's not far by helicopter."

Steph's throat got tight, but it was only partly with panic.

"You would do that?" she asked him softly.

"Yes," Lex said seriously. "I intend to raise this baby with you," he said. "And I would like very much for us to be a couple while we do that," he said more gently, stroking a finger down Steph's cheek.

She swallowed, because it would be so easy to give into the softer emotions of the moment and say yes - but in reality, there was no way in hell she could move in with Lex, and she honestly shouldn't even date him. Plus, his intensity a few minutes ago had scared the fuck out of her.

"We have to date some first before I decide about moving in with you," Steph said firmly, to buy herself time to regroup with the (surely going to be horrified and judgy) Bats, as she met Lex's eyes.

"I have to make sure you're worthy of my time and attention, after all," she teased when Lex frowned. "Maybe," Steph said more playfully, looping her arms around Lex and pressing a little kiss to his lips, "maybe you're a bad man who I should stay far, far away from."

Nothing like a little reverse psychology, right? And some sexy flirtation to ease the tension of the moment?

"Plus, I'm thinking for two now," Steph continued to tease as Lex's eyes thankfully began to twinkle. "I have to make sure you're fit to be a full-time father," she grinned as she traced her fingertips over his bald head.

"Maybe you're cranky and short-tempered and will make our baby cry," she said, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Or maybe you'll be too demanding and our kid will end up needing years of therapy if we live together. These are very important things that a mother needs to find out, before shacking up with her baby daddy," Steph smirked at him.

"Mmf," Lex said, but his face had relaxed. "I can assure you that I will be an excellent father _and_ an excellent partner," he said.

Steph had her doubts, but, hey. That was a problem for another day - when she was back in Gotham. Right now, she was in a Metropolis penthouse with her (over)devoted baby daddy who she had at least temporarily managed to wind around her finger.

"You can assure me, huh?" Steph said, kneeling upright to straddle Lex's lap before kissing the tip of his nose. "When you can _prove_ it to me, then we can talk about getting me movers," she smiled.

Lex growled deep in his throat as his hands tightened on Steph's waist.

"I take it your stomach's feeling better?" he said.

"Much," Steph beamed at him.

"Then I have a few things that I can prove to you right now," Lex smirked.

Hey, it was manipulation sex. Totally for her own protection. A simple case of keeping her friends close and her enemies closer.

So what if her enemy gave damn fine orgasms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now know where this is going. For specific tags and spoilers, because shit is gonna get angsty and bittersweet even through the ending, go check the spoiler tags in the endnotes of my fic “Shot to the Heart.” 
> 
> That way no one gets spoilers who doesn’t want them but some of you will need them I know. Hell, I would if I was reading it and not writing it.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are much appreciated. Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You can follow me online as River9Noble. Come say hi!


End file.
